There have been times in my life where I was happy but didn't realize it until it was too late, so this checks out.
this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2026
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"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." Andy Bernard
This totally happens to me too. I even tried clapping my hands one time as the realization washed over me like a rogue wave catching a kayaker off guard, tossing them into the cold gray-green water, the sounds of gurgling bubbles robbing them of their last hope for deliverance.
Alas.
"Don't know what you've got til it's gone"
Yeah often happiness is just contentment. It’s easy to get bored with that and “want more” from life. Bad choices can often follow these instincts!
Life is making mistakes and deciding how to live with them. :)
I mean, mistakes are a part of life, sure, but I would hate it if they defined my life! I’ve managed to make some pretty good choices along the way, too.
Usually those good choices come from wisdom gained from screwing up. At least that's been my experience! :D
I mean... I would expect most happy people don't really fully appreciate it unless they consciously work on it... our brains are wired to notice pain - we adapt to comfort. It's why people who already have the world still want MORE.
I think culture plays a huge part in this. In heavily industrialized countries (like America, for example), we are taught that more is always better and that living a simple life is somehow shameful or a waste of potential (not everyone believes this, of course - I'm generalizing). Many, many studies have consistently shown that the happiest people on earth are often those who lead the simplest lives. Perspective really is everything.
Dave Gorman did a stand-up bit about this. His version goes something like
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it clap your hands
If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it clap your hands
But if you're happy and don't know it, or unhappy and you do
Then the clauses in this song do not apply to you
But if you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it
Then, and only then, please clap your hands
She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they had been happy; and they clapped their hands.
Lmao
Sometimes you don't know how good you have it until your "rock bottom" turns out to be an elevator which is now headed down a mineshaft 😭
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Edit: Yes, I low that is a helix.
Maybe you have been and you just never knew it.
I was happy once. It was awful, and I forgot to clap.
Subconscious desires being met while conscience ones aren't.
If your mood is ambiguous, make a sound!
Pfff~sigh~
Gneurshk
A lot of people have everything they need to be happy but their perspectives keep them unhappy... It might not be exactly the premise given but it's pretty close. 👍
If people were happy and content, it would be much harder to manipulate them in many senses of it, so making people feel bad about them is part of the crushing machine design
Sometimes it's also just very profitable (the beauty industry comes to mind).
Making people buy stuff is one form of manipulation as well
Most of the time, yeah
Best (and most existential) one I've seen in quite a while.
As someone who've struggled through life, my impression is that a lot of people who dont't, often don't realise how happy they are. It's like they are so used to being satisfied they don't really notice the happiness because they are so used to it
If you're unhappy and don't know it, eat one more snack. Crunch crunch.
And it implies that if you were happy and didn’t know it, you’d clap anyway if the song didn’t clarify.
Does it? It sounds to me like it implies that you wouldn't clap your hands unless you are happy, you know it, and you also want to show it. All three must be true for it to be hand-clapping time.
What difference would you expect if the “and you know it” clause were omitted?
Suppose there are indeed some people who would clap ”if they’re happy”, but refrain “if they’re happy and they know it”. The implication would be that these people are happy and don’t know it—and yet we’re supposing that they would have clapped “if they’re happy” anyway.
If they didn’t clap, adding the clause would have no effect and its inclusion would have no motivation.
I think it's incredibly true.
Happiness is used incorrectly as a gauge of how one should feel as a baseline. Because of that people get sad or worried when they aren't happy. In truth "meh" is the default state, but it's harder to sell you stuff if you're feeling OK.
And ignorance is bliss